BY SAM SPOKONY | ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEB. 3, 2014 | After 18 months of delays and several missed deadlines, Chinatown/Lower East Side residents and officials are still calling on the M.T.A. to fix a broken escalator at the E. Broadway subway station.

That escalator inside the F train station — which is located at the corner of E. Broadway and Rutgers St. and far from other subway stops — has been out of service since August 2012, preventing many elderly and disabled locals from using what is essentially a lifeline for citywide transit.

“We need this done as soon as possible,” said Irene Alladice, a senior from the Gouverneur Gardens housing complex, at a Jan. 31 rally outside the station, during which residents and advocates were joined by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Sen. Daniel Squadron.

Another local senior, Jocelyne Cuny-Panicker, 75, said that walking down the station’s 81-step staircase causes her intense back pain that worsens with each trip.

“But I have to do it,” she added, shaking her head, since it’s the only station within walking distance for her. “I have no choice.”

John Raskin, executive director of the advocacy group Riders Alliance, noted during the rally that one of the first complaints his organization received, after its founding in 2012, was from an Essex St. resident who wanted the escalator to be fixed.

“And it’s not just one person,” said Raskin, “because there are 13,000 people who use the E. Broadway subway station on an average weekday, and many of them really need that escalator.”

The Metropolitan ‘Transportation Authority’s work at the station began because the agency was replacing the previous 24-inch-wide escalator with a new 40-inch-wide model, and it was initially scheduled to be completed in August 2013, according to an authority spokesperson.

The project was then stalled after Hurricane Sandy struck in October 2012, when agency resources had to be prioritized for other stations that were more heavily damaged by the storm, according to the spokesperson.

Later, Con Edison interrupted the work while replacing two generators within the station, the M.T.A. rep said, which pushed back the deadline to Dec. 2013. Then, after apparent problems with some escalator equipment during recent tests, the transit authority has once again lagged behind schedule — now saying the escalator will be back in service by Feb. 28.

In response to the latest missed deadline, the elected officials had a very clear message for the M.T.A. during their Jan. 31 rally.

“We will not accept another delay,” said Silver.

“We are a community of many seniors,” he continued, “and we pride ourselves on the fact that our seniors don’t need institutionalization, because we provide services that allow them to stay here. This is one of those necessary services.”

The electeds also declared that they’d be back on the scene for another rally if the job isn’t completed by Feb. 28.

“It’s time for the M.T.A. to prioritize this challenge and get this escalator fixed,” said Squadron. “Not next month, not in three weeks, but immediately.”

3 Responses to Anger builds as escalator’s still broken at E. Broadway subway

Don't they have extra parts in storage? Or extra staff on hand for something like this? 18 months of delays is no joke! Surely if they are trying to encourage people to do more exercise, this is not the right way to do things either! It's really important to get someone on the ball enough to monitor works like this that needs doing!